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An encouraging post from Stone Mills against ALTO Facebook page:
A NEW STUDY PUTS HIGH-FREQUENCY RAIL BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT!
Some interesting news out of Quebec this morning! A November 12 article published by CityNews Montreal, titled “Rail link between Quebec City and Toronto would give excellent results at a fraction of the cost, study says,” provides an advance look at a new study conducted by Vision Transport in collaboration with Quebec's Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA).
The study, prepared by researchers Vincent Duguay and Pierre DuSablon, examines an alternative to ALTO that would modernize existing railway infrastructure rather than build an entirely new high-speed rail network across the countryside and the preliminary numbers are certainly worth a closer look!
The researchers estimate that improvements to existing tracks, signalling, level crossings and passenger trains could reduce express travel time between Quebec City and Toronto to approximately 5 hours and 50 minutes, compared with ALTO's projected 4 hours and 30 minutes.
The estimated cost? Approximately $11 billion, including a 20% contingency, compared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer's $75–113 billion estimate for ALTO.
The proposal also considers retaining service to all 22 existing VIA Rail stations, with both express and local service options.
Of course, these are different types of rail systems, and we'll want to examine the full study, its assumptions and cost estimates before drawing conclusions. Upgrading existing infrastructure wouldn't be without impacts either. Still, this is an important development, particularly as agricultural organizations have been calling for a pause and an independent comparison of high-speed and high-frequency rail.
The UPA and Vision Transport are holding a press conference today at 10:30 a.m. in Longueuil, Quebec, to formally present the study's findings. I haven't found a public livestream announced, but hopefully the full report and presentation materials will be available afterward.
The UPA has a dedicated ALTO information page where it shares reports, research and correspondence. It's worth keeping an eye on for the new study.
See Stone Mills against ALTO Facebook page for a link to the study.
It will be interesting to see the full study and dig a little deeper into the findings. Hopefully, this will also encourage more discussion and collaboration around a meaningful, independent comparison of the options available to improve passenger rail in Canada!
Posted : 12/11/2026 10:22 am
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